Tech centre offers Echuca regional training
1 April 2011
A new multi-milliondollar Technical Education Centre has opened in Echuca, boosting access to higher education and training for regional students.
The Echuca campus, part of Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE, offers skills training in electrotechnology, automotive, engineering, construction and plumbing trades.
The $5.25 million centre, will provide purpose-built facilities to help train students closer to where they lived. The cost of living away from home is the single most influential factor preventing regional people from accessing education and training.
Previously, students from Echuca, Rochester, Kyabram, Tongala and Kerang had to travel to Bendigo to undertake training. Research indicated up to 70 per cent of students who studied in regional Victoria chose to work and live in regional communities, highlighting the importance of regionally-based training opportunities.
The training to be provided is in areas of current skills shortages, reinforcing the positive role this centre will play in contributing to Victoria's future productivity and prosperity.
The centre was funded through the Federal Government's Education Investment Fund.
